Recent years have seen a proliferation of new and different lighting devices and systems being introduced for commercial and residential lighting applications. For example, compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs of various shapes and sizes are now commercially available, and users are being encouraged to replace Edison-type incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs to reduce energy demands. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are also being used in a growing number of applications, from automobile lights to television backlights to general purpose light bulbs. LEDs generate light when electrons combine with holes in a solid semiconductor material. The semiconductor material is typically a small chip or die that is cut from a larger semiconductor wafer, the LED die usually being quite small, e.g. on the order of 1 mm×1 mm in size, such that the (solid state) LED source behaves essentially like a point source of light. The semiconductor die may also be mounted in a reflective cup and/or in a transparent encapsulant whose outer surface may be curved to form a lens, or may be flat.